In the Arms of an Angel
by Sweeney Todd
Summary: One Shot. Sequel to All I Ask of You. After her performance in Il Muto Christine retreats to her dressing room to find her angel waiting for her. EC pairing.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Phantom of the Opera, duh.

Author's Notes: This is the highly demanded sequel to _All I Ask of You_. No this isn't the lemon version some of my livejournal friends have been dying to read. Unfortunately this site does not except such fanfiction. Nonetheless I wrote a R version just for this site. Enjoy!

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In the Arms of an Angel

A vibrant smile formed on Christine's painted lips as the audience roared with praise. Gracefully she pinched the ends of her pink gown and curtsied holding a victorious smile. With a light swoosh the velvet red curtains swung close, and with that the cast burst with enthusiasm. Christine on the other hand remained completely still as thoughts of her angel's seductive touch raced through her. Oh she could not wait to feel his gloved fingers trace along her jaw line ever so smoothly.

"Oh Christine," Meg squealed and gave her best friend a tight hug, "Your voice is so amazing. You must tell me your secret!"

"I was inspired by my angel of music." Christine sighed softly and turned to meet Meg's gaze, "He was there watching over me tonight."

"Whatever the inspiration, your voice was absolutely wonderful tonight!" Meg responded and embraced her friend one more, "My mother must be very proud!"

The red carpet swallowed any possible clicking from their heels as they exited the stage area. Both of the girls giggled sharing their favorite moments of the performance especially Carlotta's notorious croak after sprinkling her throat with a sabotaged formula swapped by a certain angel of music. Christine broke out into fits of giggles when Meg impersonated Carlotta's horrified expression after falling victim once more to the infamous Opera Ghost.

Christine gave Meg a small wave as she made her way to her dressing room, "I'll see you tomorrow morning, Meg. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Christine!" Meg called as she waved back.

Christine clutched the knob tightly, and pushed the door open. As the door swung open it gave off an irritating squeak causing Christine to cringe. Silently she closed the door not wanting to disturb anyone next door, and pulled her ruby red cloak off her shoulders. After hanging her coat up in the closet she rested on a nearby stool allowing an exhausted sigh to escape her painted lips.

"Christine…" Erik's voice echoed throughout the dressing room.

That haunting voice that belonged to only him, her angel of music, sent riveting shivers down her spine. The way he had caressed her soft skin so tenderly on the rooftop made her entire body feel as if it were consumed in flames of endless passion. Those ocean blue eyes that made her feel as if they could see deep into her soul made her feel so powerless yet strangely she wanted it all. No longer could she remain idle while her angel sang songs in her head. With a gleeful smile she pranced over to the mirror staring deeply into her reflection. She could sense him waiting to hear her sing to him, and she would grant him the voice that he had trained.

_Angel I hear you, speak I listen!_

_Stay by my side, guide me!_

"Christine…" Erik whispered once more his image now visible in the mirror, "Come to me, Christine. Come to your angel of music."

Without any further thought she took his hand, and allowed him to once more guide her into his dark world. The staircase seemed endless as they descended deep into the darkness below. Once reaching the bottom of the winding staircase Erik gracefully led her inside the gondola that bore such a dark appeal as expected of such a mysterious figure. The murky water swirled around the gondola creating a fog of mystery as Erik rowed his attention still on the brunette who granted him all the love he could ever ask for.

As the boat hit shore Erik tossed the oar aside, and clasped Christine's hand leading her into the home that had been his dark despair for so many years. Entranced by his catlike gestures she followed him over to the pipe organ where a familiar rose laid on top. Erik released her from his grip and retrieved the rose. He returned to her and laid the red rose in the palm of her hand.

"Your voice was absolutely splendid tonight." Erik commented with a rare smile, "And I believe this belongs to you Mademoiselle."

"Thank you." Christine replied accepting his gift with a sincere smile.

The rose was just like she remembered deep crimson petals with a silky black ribbon tied around the stem. It was the usual gift that he brought her after each performance, and each rose he gave her meant so much to her. Her heels clattered against the floor as she approached Erik and placed her hand on top of his shoulder. All she wanted right now was to be held in his possessive embrace.

A small moan left Christine's lips as she threw herself into his open arms sending a surge of warm through Erik's cold flesh. Her pleading eyes met his begging him to capture her lips in a powerful kiss, and nervously Erik tilted Christine's chin up. His breath quickened, he had kissed her once before, but still pleasing another wasn't his area of expertise. After all he had hid himself from the world for so long that he was never able to experience any sort of passion with another until now.

Softly he leaned over and breathed into her ear, "What of that De Changy boy?"

"I care about him a lot." Christine replied stuttering nervously, "But I do not feel the same passion with him that I feel when I am with you."

The answer wasn't exactly what he would have wanted to hear. Still her answer would satisfy him for the time being, and with more excitement than experience he began to unlace her corset pulling each lace away one by one. For a moment Christine was lost in a stat of bliss until her eyes fell upon his white mask which hid so many secrets. That mask hid more than just a face, but many secrets of his dark past. She had seen what lied beneath, but still she found her hands reaching over to remove the mask only to have his hand grasp her wrist tightly.

"Don't remove my mask!" Erik scolded her as if she were only a child.

"Why do you hide from me?" She asked just above a whisper, "I thought you trusted me."

"You have seen what lies behind this mask, and you were horrified by the awful truth!" Erik reminded her falling victim once more to his uncontrollable rage.

Christine turned away her eyes now on the gondola and replied, "Perhaps I should leave then."

"You can't leave!" His hands clutched her wrists tightly pulling her close to him, "You belong to me!"

"If you care so much for me then stop hiding from me!" Christine hissed breaking free of his hold.

With one swift motion she reached out and tore the mask away from his face. The mask slipped from her fingers as she suppressed a gasp while tears now flowed freely down her cheeks. Rosy red welts puffed around his unmasked cheek while dead skin flaked around his infected flesh. After sucking in a deep breath of air Christine approached him cupping his cheek softly. No, she wasn't afraid of him this time, but still she shed tears of compassion for his dark fate.

Instantly his anguish was overtaken with an odd sense of relief like a child who managed to escape punishment and with a husky whisper he asked, "You are not afraid of me?"

"No, I am not afraid." Christine responded sincerely, "I don't want you to hide from me. I love you for who you are inside."

A warm smile cross her lips as she stood on her toes and kissed the dying flesh proving to him that she was no longer afraid of the mutilated flesh he hid for so long. There was still so much she wanted to ask him of his past and even wondered if he had a name. Most of all she wondered how this home of his came to be. So many questions rushed through her head at the moment she had no idea where to begin.

"When I was a child my mother loathed me for this face and gave me a mask to hide my face from our visitors." Erik admitted his gaze fixated on the floor.

"My angel, you don't need to be ashamed." Christine replied, "None of that was your fault, and as long as you are with me you don't need to cover your face."

"I am not an angel, Christine, I am a man." Erik confessed, "My name is Erik."

"Erik…" His name rolled of her tongue smoothly, "I've known for quite sometime now that you were not a real angel, but to me you will always be my angel of music."

A sincere smile crept on his lips at her kind words, and with no further thought he claimed her lips. At first he gave her a gentle kiss, but as their passion grew their kiss became more than just an innocent kiss. Still unsure of what to do Erik experimented with their kiss, and traced her lips with his tongue. A sigh escaped Christine's lips allowing Erik to slip his tongue inside her mouth and followed her motions. The two parted gazing into each other's eyes.

"Christine, I love you." Erik whispered tenderly.

"I love you too." Christine responded eyes locked with his.

Swiftly Erik lifted Christine off her feet and carried her to a familiar room with a golden bed shaped like a swan. After so many lonesome years he could finally share his passionate feelings with the woman he loved more than any living soul. For at least this one night he could push away all the cares in the world to spend a night with Christine, his beloved Christine.

Fin

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Author's Notes: Some of you who know me from livejournal may already know that I have a lemon version of this fic in the works. Sadly will not accept lemons of any sort so I decided to make a lime version specifically for this site. I hope you enjoyed this attempt at a sequel, and please if you can leave a review. Thank you for reading.


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